Ripples and Splashes/The Fire Inside
A story written by Splash Prologue A large, orange tom with graying fur stood outside his den, watching the night sky. A gray she-cat padded up to him, her yellow gaze staring him down. "Grayfoot, LakeClan is in despair! We’ve lost one of our best warriors and prey is scarce." He said to her. "I know, Blazestar. Do you think I haven’t noticed how scrawny our High-class clanmates have been getting?" the medicine cat replied. Blazestar continued, ignoring her. "I hope we can feed ourselves through leaf-bare." "I agree. We still don’t-" She gasped suddenly, her amber eyes following a star that was falling in the sky. It fell past the lake, and right when it should have hit the surface, a large wave came toward them and showered them with water. "It’s a message from the ancestors!" Blazestar was stunned. "That’s strange. StarClan hasn’t sent us a message in at least 2 years! I hope it means we’re getting more prey! Our clan is starving!" Grayfoot nodded, shuffling her paws. "Agreed. Anyway, this is the message: The ripples and splashes of the water begin and flourish, turning the tide of the lake." Blazestar sighed, his tail brushing away scattered leaves. "Well, that’s cryptic. And nothing about where to find prey." Grayfoot ignored him, her attention turning instead to the two kits tumbling out of the nursery. "And there's Splashkit and Skykit. We shouldn’t talk about the prophecy in front of them. They’re too young to worry about prophecies." She said. One The tiny silver kit opened her eyes slowly, looking around the nursery. She was curled up against her mother's belly, tail toward the other kits. She turned her head slightly, seeing the other kits in the warm section of the nursery. She stretched, alerting her mother. Heathertail was a large, dark gray she-cat, green eyes as piercing as teeth. She had been sad for a while, and the only thing that seemed to cheer her up was Splashkit. Splashkit and her mother lived in LakeClan. Splashkit had been born during a harsh leafbare, and her father had dissapeared while scouting. Splashkit barely remembered him. Heathertail looked down. "Good morning sleepyhead!" she said cheerfully. The gray tabby had been eating a small shrew. She pushed it toward her kit. "Go ahead, take a bite. You need to try prey sometime." Splashkit glanced dubiously at the skinny animal. She hesitantly moved forward and leaned over to take a bite- And a larger kit rammed into her, knocking her headfirst out of the nest and into the nursery wall. "Skykit!" Splashkit wailed, flattening her ears. She stood up, shaking the moss out of her fur. The big tom kit was a light brown tabby, and he was smirking. "That'll teach you to sleep in!" he taunted, green eyes shimmering with joy. Splashkit padded up to him, hissing playfully. She swatted him with her paw, claws sheathed. She caught him over the ears. She glanced over at Skykit's mother, Whitespot. The white she-cat was looking in disgust at the two kits, her gaze aimed at Splashkit. As Splashkit was staring, Skykit reared up, looking much bigger, and leaped on top of her. Splashkit yelped, the unexpected blow hurting more then she guessed was intended. She rolled onto her back and pummelled Skykit with her hind paws. He jumped off her and started to groom himself. "Skykit, why is Whitespot looking at us like that?" she whispered to him. The brown kit swiveled his head to look at his mother. His face contorted as he said, "She doesn't want me playing with you. She says High-class warriors shouldn't mingle with lowborns." Splashkit hissed and padded over to her mother. "Maybe you shouldn't play with me then," she mumbled. "No! I don't care. It's just her opinion," he said. His tail swished and thwacked Splashkit playfully. "Besides, we can do what we want!" Two "Splashpaw! Skypaw! Honeypaw! Rosepaw!" The clan chanted. Splashpaw looked up at Blazestar, eyes shining. She wanted to finish her training so she could be a high-class warrior, and be treated like a normal cat. Splashpaw's new mentor, a young, light brown she-cat named Twigclaw, padded over. "Come on, I'll show you around the territory," She said kindly. Splashpaw followed her mentor out of camp. My first day out! this is awesome! She thought. They walked through the forest, though everything looked the same to Splashpaw. Twigclaw showed her around the whole territory and by the end of it, Splashpaw's legs were aching. When they were back in camp, Splashpaw padded slowly to the apprentice's den. As she stepped through the small entrance, he excitement returned. She was an apprentice! She found a spot where she could put a nest, then grabbed some moss from the edge of the den. As she made her nest, Honeypaw, Skypaw's sister, came into the den. "Hey, low-born! While you're doing the nests, fix up mine! I like it with feathers," Honeypaw said smugly. Splashpaw bared her teeth, and hissed, "I don't do tasks for you. Do it yourself." Honeypaw hissed back, padding toward Splashpaw. "You don't want to say that," she taunted. Before Splashpaw could say anything, Skypaw burst into the den. "Honeypaw, stop!" He yowled. Honeypaw whipped her head around to face him. "Don't you remember what Whitespot taught us? The low-borns have to listen to us," she said. "That's never been a rule, and Splashpaw is my friend! You can't treat her like that," Skypaw growled. "It's alright, Skypaw. I know I don't need to listen to her," Splashpaw said. She finished her nest, aware of Honeypaw watching her. Then Splashpaw looked up, blue-violet eyes filled with rage. She turned and stalked out of the den, heading to her mentor. She stopped halfway across the camp and instead turned to the fresh-kill pile. there were only a few small mice left, but that was a better meal than what she had gotten a quarter moon ago. She picked up two mice and sat down next to her favorite tree stump. She bit into the first mouse as Skypaw padded up to her. "Sorry," was all he said. Three Splashpaw sped across the forest, claws outstretched and ready to close in on the rabbit she was chasing. The scent of rabbit wafted into her nose and her mouth watered. Her paws hammered down on the ground as she sped up and leaped on top of the rabbit, biting its neck to kill it quickly. Her mentor followed her, breathless. As Splashpaw groomed herself, Twigclaw panted, "You run faster than a WindClan cat. You caught that rabbit quicker then I've ever seen, and you didn't even sneak up on it." Splashpaw picked up the rabbit and replied, "Thanks." The two padded back to camp in silence. Splashpaw tripped a few times as she couldn't see over her rabbit. When they padded through the entrance, Splashpaw immediately set down the rabbit on the prey pile, but not before every cat in the camp managed to see that she had caught a giant, full-grown hare. She walked slowly to the apprentices' den, but Twigclaw beckoned her over. "Grab your rabbit; we're taking it to Blazestar." Splashpaw turned in surprise but followed obediently. She grabbed the rabbit as she walked. The apprentice followed her mentor into the leader's den. She had never been inside before. She waited as Twigclaw told the leader about how Splashpaw had caught the rabbit. Did I catch it wrong? Did I mess up? ''She wondered. Blazestar nodded when Twigclaw finished. "Alright; try to train her by playing into her strengths," he said. Twigclaw agreed. "Come on, Splashpaw," Twigclaw said. "You can share the rabbit with the other apprentices. Splashpaw padded over to the apprentices' den. "Does anyone want a rabbit? I caught it," she said. Honeypaw poked her head up. "Sure." Rosepaw nodded silently, and Skypaw bounced over to see the rabbit. "Woah! You caught this?" he said, astounded. "Yeah. Twigclaw even showed it to Blazestar," She said proudly. She noticed Honepaw stiffen with a look of jealousy on her face. Honeypaw bent down to take a bite of the rabbit, ripping off a whole leg of it. She proceeded to lay down in her nest and eat her part of the rabbit alone. ''She has her pride, Splashpaw thought. Even if it's for something I don't like. The group of apprentices polished off the rabbit and settled down to sleep. ---- The next morning, Splashpaw was awoken by a paw prodding her in the side. She groaned quietly, rolling over to face whoever had woken her up. She wasn't all that surprised when she saw Skypaw's face. "Come on," he said. "Our mentors want all of us to do a race." Splashpaw stood up and groomed herself quickly. She was excited, bouncing out of the den once she finished. Twigclaw was waiting outside. "Follow me. The race starts in the training hollow," Twigclaw meowed. Splashpaw followed obediently. The reached the clearing, where Honeypaw was waiting. Rosepaw must have been with Grayfoot in the medicine den. Skypaw and his mentor followed close behind Splashpaw. Splashpaw and Skypaw padded over to Honeypaw, presumably where the start was. "Alright, everyone," a voice said. It was Skypaw's mentor, Tigerstripe. "On my count, you will race through the forest. You pass the Fourtrees and turn, heading to the border with ThunderClan. You turn back before you cross, and pass through Smallpond. Then you come back. The first cat to complete the race gets a day off training." Splashpaw faced forward, taking a stance to boost her ahead of the others. "Ready, set, go!" Tigerstripe yowled. Splashpaw bolted forward, speeding ahead of the others. Her paws felt like they barely touched the ground as she ran, skipping over stones and other things that could trip her. She looked back for a second, checking how far ahead she was. She could barely make out Honeypaw and Skypaw, they were so far away. She bounded around a tree and lost sight of them. Fourtrees started to come into sight. She went around one of the four big trees and sped to the border with ThunderClan, as instructed. She turned tail before she crossed and ran straight into Smallpond. She swam as fast as she could across the pond, determined not to let the others catch up. Her fur waterlogged, she leaped out of the pond and continued towards the finish. Her fur began to dry as she ran. Before she knew it, she hurtled herself across the finish line, her paw skidding across the dirt. She looked up happily at Twigclaw. Tigerstripe, and Violetclaw. She noticed with confusion that they all wore similar expressions of bewilderment. "Splashpaw," Twigclaw began. "That was astounding. You made it around half the forest in less time then it would take a rabbit being chased," She gaped. Skypaw sped into the clearing, out of breath and legs buckling. he barely crossed the finish line before collapsing. Splashpaw hurried over to him, worried. "Skypaw?" She mewed quietly. "Are you alright?" "He's just tired, that's all," Tigerstripe mewed. Honeypaw came in last, panting as well. She turned to Splashpaw. "Wow! I've never seen or heard of a cat running that fast before," She said. "Thanks?" Splashpaw meowed. She wasn't sure if that was a compliment. Skypaw was starting to get up. His face wasn't astounded or supporting. It was full of anger. "That's not possible! You freak!" He yowled at Splashpaw. Splashpaw flattened her ears as her fur bristled. "What are you talking about? I was just running as fast as I could. What's wrong with that?" She hissed at him. Skypaw didn't say anything in reply. He lunged at her, claws outstretched as he barreled into her and knocked her to the ground. He swiped at her muzzle, and as his claws came away she felt her nose stinging. He had drawn blood. "Stop it!" Twigclaw screeched. She rammed between the two apprentices, trying to separate them. She pinned Skypaw down. "Tigerstripe, learn to train your apprentice not ''to attack his clanmates." Tigerstripe hissed and bent forward, whispering something to Skypaw. Twigclaw let up and released Skypaw as Tigerstripe walked Skypaw back to camp. "Let's get you to Grayfoot. That looks like a nasty scratch," Twigclaw remarked. The two padded to the cam and medicine den. Grayfoot treated Splashpaw's scratch with dock and marigold, then sent Splashpaw to rest in the apprentices den. As promised, she was going to get a whole day off training the next day. Four Since the race, Skypaw had become more and more hateful. He'd stopped hanging out with Splashpaw completely, and was acting like his mother. He was much more prejudiced to low-class cats now. Today was the day of Splashpaw's warrior assessment. She was taking it over a half-moon earlier than Honeypaw and Skypaw. "Splashpaw," Twigclaw called. "It's time to take your assessment." Excited, Splashpaw followed Twigclaw out of camp. "Alright. I want you to hunt around Smallpond and bring back at least five pieces of prey. I will be watching you the entire time, even though you may not notice me. Ready?" Splashpaw nodded. "Okay. Go!" Twigclaw said. Splashpaw ran, heading to Smallpond. Most of the prey there were fish and voles. She had to catch ''five. ---- Splashpaw happily padded back to the training hollow, where she was supposed to meet her mentor. She had managed to catch seven pieces of prey and was quite happy about it. "Great job! You passed your assessment," Splashpaw heard Twigclaw say. A thrill went through the apprentice's body. She was going to be a warrior! She followed Twigclaw to camp, where her mentor hurried to tell Blazestar the news. Splashpaw settled down with a shrew as she wondered what her warrior name would be. Maybe Splashheart, She thought. Or Splashpool. Soon enough, she heard, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highstep for a clan meeting," coming from Blazestar. Splashpaw padded into the circle of cats, waiting for the leader's next words. "Splashpaw, come forward," he said. Splashpaw nervously stepped up. "I, Blazestar, leader of LakeClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Splashpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Voice unwavering and strong, she responded, "I do." "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Splashpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Splashfire. StarClan honors your speed and kindness, and we welcome you as a full High-class warrior of LakeClan." Blazestar rested his muzzle on Splashfire's head, and she licked his shoulder in respect. As she turned around, the clan started cheering, "Splashfire! Splashfire!" That night, Splashfire was given a silent vigil as she guarded the camp. She loved her new name. Five Seething, Splashfire turned on Skyflight. "I've told you, I cant control apprentices that aren't mine. I can scold them and report them all like, but they are they're mentor's responsibility." Skyflight looked at her, unwavering. "You should try harder. I could always report you for endangering apprentices," the young tom hissed. Splashfire groaned, wondering how exactly Skyflight had managed to become such a prick. "Skyflight," She responded evenly, "we both know that wouldn't work." At least the arguing cats were alone. The moonlight shone overhead. "Yes, you're just Blazestar's favorite warrior," Skyflight jeered. Splashfire opened her mouth. "That's not what I-" "Filthy low-born." The words were out. Splashfire fell into a stunned silence. This cat had been her best friend for her entire kithood and most of her apprenticeship, and he just called her a low-born? ''She wasn't even in the low-class now. It didn't matter where she'd started. Splashfire turned away from him, her eyes brimming with tears. She walked slowly into the warriors den, trying to get some sleep like the rest of her clan. ---- Splashfire dreamed that night. ''The wind blew across the forest. Splashfire smelled rabbit. She crept beneath the bushes, trying to sneak up on it. She leaped out to the bush, landing on the rabbit. But it wasn't a rabbit. It was Skyflight. ''"Low-born!" He yowled as he pummeled and clawed her. '' WIP Category:Fanfictions Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete) Category:Fanfictions (Fanon) Category:Content (SplashfireTheWarrior) Category:Content (Splish Splash Sploosh)